BEFORE YOU START
Volunteers change regularly and though now you might have a tech savvy computer geek on your board who can whip up a great site, the key is to keep the design simple enough that someone with simple computer skills can maintain it after the geek is gone.
Blogs on public sites
Internet service includes room for a website –
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If you have internet service to your hall or office usually at no cost you have space on the web to develop a page. This is a very cost efficient way to handle this and the design wizards included with most internet servers are for the most part easy to comprehend and use. The resulting page is very average but usually adequate. You normally do not get your own domain with this basic service so your domain name would appear something like www.bignameserver.com/bestleagueintown.aspx
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For a little more money you can get your own domain www.bestleagueintown.org , the ability to upload your own designed pages, and more memory to store them but this requires programming know how and training to publish the site and to then maintain it.
Application Frameworks
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New technologies have made for a very nice frame for a web site that is much like a blog, very easily setup, and the maintenance of which is much the same as typing a word document. There are several out there to choose from, most of them are free, and for the inexperienced, you will require an IT Developer to get you started. This starts at $400.
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If you want to get into an elaborate site that has advanced capabilities such as booking programs online, this can quickly escalate into the tens of thousands. Make a plan and get a variety of quotes and references.
Build a sub page on the EFCL site
- The EFCL has provided links through to existing community league pages. Some of them aren’t maintained, and some leagues don’t have a page. If you want to switch to something that requires maybe 10 or 20 minutes every couple of weeks, get in touch with us. We have begun to customize pages on a first come first serve basis. We provide training and will have an online manual shortly.
- We have a comprehensive starter page format - click for details
- The EFCL website is designed in an application framework. If you would like a demo on how to edit such a page please contact communications@efcl.org
Registering Domain Names
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You needn’t pay more than $10 to 15 per year to register a domain name. Some people choose to keep it simple and keep this service through their internet or phone service provider. Others shop around for the best deal. Just google domain name servers.
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Inexpensive complete packages are available that include the domain name, the domain name server (this is needed to point all people who type your name in a search to get directed to your website), and web hosting (this is the space where your website is stored). Just google web hosting.
WEBSITE DESIGN BASICS
In the fast pace of this new millennium, people want to find everything quickly and easily. To keep up there are a few simple rules to designing a website and communicating effectively:
- Plan your categories of pages before you build the site. Keep it simple and according to what your audience wants to find. If you have a reference library of documents and articles you do not need to have a page for every one, rather an article or document repository might be the way to go.
- Cross reference for easy navigation with a good navigation bar, links to feature pages, or a good library.
- Keep information a maximum of three clicks away and keep it fresh, out with the old and in with the news.
- Please contact EFCL's IT person for advice and tips that suit your specific need.